If thousands of policemen take to the streets to express their displeasure, it simply amounts to complete failure of command
Today, I am on cause of action, or lack of it, if any, pertaining to national interest. Not on prescribed judicial process or procedure, except to recall the universally accepted dictum: Justice is blind. Blind, because it cannot see and must never try to see colour, creed, caste, class, community, character, or distinguish/discriminate between either an erring cop or a roving counsel. Law punishes, after following due process thereof, the culprit. I am concerned over the nasty clash of November 2019 between policemen and counsels on the streets of Delhi, Capital of India’s 1.3 billion people.
To start with, I don’t belong to the Indian Police Service. Yet, I have had the rare privilege as junior “subaltern”, to work directly with two legends of the Indian police, K Sankaran Nair in IX Asian Games 1982 and with RN Kao, for short stint, thereafter. Both of them were amazing and extraordinary professionals of superior, rare quality. Both were workaholics, who knew how to command and also demand in a stentorian manner, mission success. Both told a junior non-IPS officer like me at first sight: “There are no bad soldiers; there are only bad commanders.” Their crisp advice: “Carry out the assigned task. I am with you always. In success or failure, don’t worry.” It was an unprecedented reassurance from two superiors in a span of two years. In retrospect, I see the success of my two commanders owing to their inherent ability to command, control, communicate with conviction, objectivity and fairness, and, yet with guts, to demand the impossible to turn defeat into victory; Ã la Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, General JN Chaudhuri and Lieutenant-General Zorawar Chand Bakshi. Not everyone, therefore, can command simply by wearing a commander’s uniform. That’s a harsh reality. Hence, recalling my 38-year-old experience, I froze seeing at least 7,000 police personnel taking to the streets, to express their grievances, defying their top brass, on live TV.
If thousands of subordinates of uniformed service take to the streets to express their displeasure and fury, it simply amounts to complete failure of command and the posting and deployment of the entire top brass of the force need a close re-look. It’s time to transfer, re-train and reform. It reflects a complete disconnect between command and the corps. It’s an abominable state of affairs for an aspiring superpower status-seeking State.
That the police rank and file is treated like doormats by all political hues is a reality too stark not to be noticed. One instance will suffice. On December 3, 2004, I was driving back to my office after attending the All India Revenue Sports Meet Zonal inauguration by Viren Shah, Governor West Bengal. At a traffic signal, there was a commotion owing to a brazen red light violation in the busy Dalhousie Square of Kolkata, adjacent to Writer’s Building, the seat of the State Government. The traffic sergeant on duty showed exemplary promptness to flag down the errant cab driver and impose a fine. But the dutiful cop was pounced upon by the law-violating driver and five more cabbies. I just couldn’t take the sight of the cop’s bloodied face. I, as Commissioner Customs, went back and promptly wrote a demi-official letter to Kolkata Police Commissioner suggesting that the officer assaulted should be recognised at once and law violators be booked. A fortnight later in my office came three unknown visitors and one of them virtually fell at my feet to say thanks and broke down. I was dazed. It transpired that my letter to the Police Commissioner not only lifted the traffic sergeant’s instant suspension “for gross dereliction of duty and rioting” but also brought him a reward and recognition. I felt happy that my letter gave justice to an honest professional in uniform.
I can go on. My four-decade-long diary has some real-life stories for the future. Nevertheless, the narrative would remain incomplete without one of the most macabre cases of murder of a 1971-batch West Bengal-cadre IPS officer Vinod Mehta that was masterminded, instigated, executed by the political class of this country. It was Sunday, March 18, 1984, a Holi holiday. Deputy Commissioner Port, Mehta was “on-call”, along with two more Deputy Commissioners, with armed forces, in the vicinity to thwart anticipated trouble. Despite advance inputs, preparation and deployment, Mehta was lynched by a fanatic mob and none of his IPS colleagues came to his rescue. The Communist Chief Minister of West Bengal and his cohorts were busy scheming and manoeuvring the next move. Nothing happened in that murder case. No politician lost his chair. No criminal was punished. Only the words of my two legendary police bosses of yesteryears ricocheted and haunted me: “There are no bad soldiers; there are only bad commanders.” The political bosses are commanders of India. They haunt me even today. Every day.
(The writer, alumnus of National Defence College, is the author of China in India)